Edwy of England
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| Edwy All-Fair | ||
|---|---|---|
| King of England | ||
 |
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| Reign | November 23, 955 - October 1, 959 | |
| Born | 941 | |
| Wessex, England | ||
| Died | October 1, 959 | |
| Buried | Winchester Cathedral | |
| Predecessor | Edred | |
| Successor | Edgar | |
| Consort | Queen Elgiva (annulled) | |
| Father | Edmund I | |
| Mother | Saint Elgiva | |
Edwy All-Fair or Eadwig (941? – October 1, 959) was the King of England from 955 until his death. The eldest son of King Edmund and Saint Elgiva, Edwy was chosen by the nobility to succeed his uncle Edred as King. His short reign was marked by ongoing conflicts with his family, the Thegns, and especially the Church, under the leadership of Saint Dunstan and Archbishop Odo.
According to one legend, the feud with Dunstan began on the day of Edwy's consecration, when he failed to attend a meeting of nobles. When Dunstan eventually found the young monarch, he was cavorting with a noblewoman named Ethelgive and refused to return with the bishop. Infuriated by this, Dunstan dragged Edwy back and forced him to renounce the girl as a "strumpet." Later realizing that he had provoked the king, Dunstan fled to the apparent sanctuary of his cloister, but Edwy, incited by Ethelgive, followed him and plundered the monastery. Though Dunstan managed to escape, he refused to return to England until after Edwy's death. {The contemporary record of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle reports Edwy's accession and Dunstan fleeing England-but does not tell why Dunstan fled. Thus this report of a feud between Edwy and Dunstan could either have been based on a true incident of a political quarrel for power between a young king and powerful church officials who wished to control the king, who later spread this legend to blacken his reputation, or it could be an urban legend; the Chronicle also tells of Odo putting aside the King's marriage on the grounds Edwy and his wife were "too related".}
Frustrated by the king's impositions and supported by Archbishop Odo, the Thanes of Mercia and Northumbria switched their allegiance to Edwy's brother Edgar in 957. Edwy was defeated in battle at Gloucester, but rather than see the country descend into civil war, an agreement was reached among the nobles by which the kingdom would be divided along the Thames, with Edwy keeping Wessex and Kent in the south and Edgar ruling in the north. In the few remaining years of his reign, Edwy ruled his realm more wisely and made significant gifts to the Church. He died, however, at the age of eighteen or nineteen, and was succeeded by his brother and rival, Edgar, who reunited the kingdom.
| Preceded by Edred |
King of England 955–959 |
Succeeded by Edgar |
Pre-conquest
Alfred the Great • Edward the Elder • Athelstan the Glorious • Edmund the Magnificent • Edred • Edwy the Fair • Edgar the Peacable • Edward the Martyr • Ethelred the Unready • Sweyn Forkbeard*† • Edmund Ironside • Canute the Great*† • Harold Harefoot • Harthacanute (Canute the Hardy)* • Edward the Confessor • Harold Godwinson • Edgar the Outlaw
Post-conquest
William I the Conqueror • William II Rufus • Henry I Beauclerc • Stephen • Matilda • Henry II • Richard I the Lionheart • John Lackland • Henry III • Edward I Longshanks • Edward II • Edward III • Richard II • Henry IV Bolingbroke • Henry V • Henry VI • Edward IV • Edward V • Richard III • Henry VII • Henry VIII‡ • Edward VI‡ • Lady Jane Grey‡ • Mary I‡ • Elizabeth I‡ • James I‡§ • Charles I‡§ • Interregnum • Charles II‡§ • James II‡§ • William III‡§¶ & Mary II‡§ • William III‡§¶ • Anne‡§
* also Monarch of Denmark • † also Monarch of Norway • ‡ also Monarch of Ireland • § also Monarch of Scotland • ¶ also Stadtholder of Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Gelderland, Overijssel and Drenthe
